Written Answers Monday 20 February 2006

Scottish Executive

Ambulance Service

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many assaults on paramedics were reported in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area and showing (a) year-on-year percentage changes and (b) the total percentage change over the five-year period.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not collected centrally in the form requested. The data available on violence and aggression related incidents can be seen on the Scottish Health Statistics website under workforce statistics, www.isdscotland.org/workforce .

  The Scottish Ambulance Service have, however, provided their own locally collected data from 2004 and 2005, which shows the total incidents reported for all ambulance staff including verbal and physical incidents and threats:

  Number of Incidents

  

Health Board
20041
Estimated 20042
2005
Variance
Percentage Variance3


Argyll and Clyde 
0
0
8
8
N/A


Ayrshire and Arran
3
8
7
-1
-12.5


Borders
2
5
2
-3
-60


Dumfries and Galloway
2
5
1
-4
-80


Fife
5
12
8
-4
-33.3


Forth Valley
2
5
6
1
20


Grampian
17
41
30
-11
-36.9


Greater Glasgow
26
63
74
11
17.5


Highland
1
3
10
7
233.3


Lanarkshire
6
15
30
15
100


Lothian
19
46
42
-4
-8.7


Tayside
4
10
14
4
40


Total
87
213
232
19
8.9



  Notes:

  1. Data for 2004 only from Aug onwards. 2. Estimated full year figures (total/5*12) and rounded up to whole figure. 3. Uses Estimated 2004 figures as base. N.B. The island boards have not been included in this table as they have had no reported incidents.

Further and Higher Education

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of any changes to the rates of student support for further and higher education students which will apply for the academic year 2006-07.

Nicol Stephen: I am delighted to announce the new rates of support for students in further and higher education for academic year 2006-07. I am today placing in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre details of the rates of those loans, bursaries and grants, which will be available to eligible undergraduate and postgraduate students in full-time higher education.

  A general uprating factor of 2.5%, in line with inflation, will be applied to the existing schemes of support in 2006-07, thus maintaining their value in real terms. I am also announcing details of the new support package which will be available to new Scottish domiciled students entering higher education in England, Wales or Northern Ireland from 2006. As well as the details of the loans for fees and living cost support available to these students, it also gives details of the new Students Outside Scotland Bursary. This will replace the Young Students Outside Scotland Bursary with eligibility being extended to over 25s. The Students Outside Scotland Bursary will replace up to £2,000 of the student loan for living cost support available to those students from low income backgrounds.

  The Scottish Funding Council has also agreed to maintain the alignment between the further and higher education sectors by, where appropriate, uprating the support available to further education students by 2.5%.

  A copy of these rates is also being placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 38766).

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many experienced allied health practitioners have applied for travel scholarships of up to £5,000, broken down by NHS board area.

Mr Andy Kerr: The number of Allied Health Professionals who have applied for the first round of the travel scholarship scheme is shown in the table:

  

NHS Board
Applications


Ayrshire and Arran
1


Dumfries and Galloway
1


Grampian
3


Greater Glasgow
9


Forth Valley
1


Lanarkshire
2


Tayside 
1

Health

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have been admitted into the care of the NHS following the development of complications arising from treatment, procedures or care provided by private health care providers.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on the numbers of patients admitted to NHS hospitals due to complications in treatment received in the independent sector is not held centrally.

Health

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide the details of contracts with private providers for clinical care such as cataract operations and, specifically, whether the contracts enable the Executive to recover any costs associated with the NHS having to provide care to patients who have developed complications arising from treatment under such contracts.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive does not hold this information as contracts with independent sector providers are held by individual NHS boards.

Health

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans the Executive has to review all contracts with private health care providers, in light of reports of infections following cataract surgery carried out by the Advanced Centre for Eye Care under contract to NHS Glasgow in The Herald on 31 January 2006.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive has no such plans. Explicit guidance has been issued to NHS boards underlining their responsibilities to ensure services provided to NHS patients by the independent health care sector meet the quality standards that apply in the NHS in Scotland. It is for NHS boards to satisfy themselves, in contracting with an independent sector provider, that appropriate governance and monitoring arrangements are in place.

Health

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reconsider its policies in respect of contracting the private sector to provide clinical care.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive will not be reconsidering its policies at present in respect of contracting with the independent sector to provide clinical care. Thousands of patients across Scotland have benefited already from our use of the independent sector, and we have been able to use the extra capacity provided to drive down waiting times across Scotland. However, we expect the same high standards for our patients wherever they are treated. It is for NHS boards to satisfy themselves that, in contracting with an independent sector provider, appropriate governance and monitoring arrangements are in place.

NHS Funding

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funds are being made available to NHS boards for 2006-07.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS boards have been given a general allocation of £6,436.205 million for 2006-07, an average increase over the equivalent 2005-06 allocation of 7.25%. Details of each NHS board’s allocation are as follows:

  

Health Board
Total General Allocation
2006-07
  (£ Million)
Percentage Increase 
in Unified Budget
(%)


Ayrshire and Arran
496.914
7.45


Borders
143.455
8.14


Dumfries and Galloway 
207.375
7.92


Fife
430.918
7.98


Forth Valley
338.619
7.60


Grampian
583.490
6.75


Greater Glasgow
1,634.850
6.75


Highland
419.558
7.98


Lanarkshire
686.476
7.82


Lothian
868.621
7.16


Orkney
26.852
7.14


Shetland
31.812
6.75


Tayside
516.958
6.75


Western Isles
50.307
6.75


Total
6,436.205
7.25



  Note: The general allocation includes provision for Hospital and community health services and the cost of drugs prescribed by general practitioners.

  Allocations to Special Health Boards for 2006-07 are as follows:

  

Special Health Board
Allocation
(£ Million)
Percentage Increase
(%)


NHS National Services Scotland
216.914
4.64


NHS Education for Scotland
325.263
6.75


State Hospital
30.846
6.75


Scottish Ambulance Service
162.942
6.75


NHS Quality Improvement Scotland
15.197
3.60


NHS Health Scotland
12.608
3.60


NHS 24
49.622
6.75


National Waiting Times Centre
36.568
6.75


Total
849.960
6.10

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22552 by Cathy Jamieson on 26 January 2006, what the reason is for its position not to comment on the status or handling of leaked documents.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive has an active publication scheme for documents and a commitment to inform Parliament and the Scottish people about relevant issues, in accordance with legislation and convention. The UK Government has its own procedures for the release of documents and information. It would not be appropriate to either encourage or assist those who would seek to circumvent or undermine those proper arrangements by commenting on the status or handling of allegedly leaked documents.